Only Time Will Tell
by leiasky
Summary: FAM Zorro. Zorro takes a shot meant for Victoria. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Title: Only Time Will Tell

Rated : PG

Synopsis: Zorro takes a shot meant for Victoria.

Misc Notes: This story takes place a few months after the series finale 'A Conspiracy of Blood'

Written: 6/05

Disclaimer: This story was written solely for the enjoyment of other Zorro fans and is not intended to infringe on any copyrights held by Goodman/Rosen Productions, New World Television, Zorro Productions, the estate of Johnston McCulley or anyone else.

* * *

"True love is when you have to watch a friend leave, with the knowledge that you might never see him again. But you know he'll be in your mind and heart forever..." _- Unknown

* * *

_

Only Time Will Tell

"With any luck, soon there will be no more need of my services." His eyes were bright, full of hopeful excitement.

Victoria nodded with a warm smile. "The alcalde _has_ seemed to be a changed man these last few months."

"His brush with death at the emissary's hands, the cause, no doubt." He brushed her hair off her neck and trailed long, gentle fingertips down the smooth skin.

"He owes you a pardon for saving him from such a cruel, painful death." Victoria leaned into his caress and arched her neck in silent invitation. She trembled when his cool lips dropped to place a lingering kiss to the soft, sensitive skin.

* * *

The day began like any other. The plaza was bustling with merchants selling their wares and soldiers practiced their marksmanship in the cuartel. Victoria smiled at Alejandro and Diego as they trotted toward the tavern, their magnificent mares carrying their riders proudly.

They dismounted and tied the mares to the hitching post and Alejandro excused himself to conduct some business. Diego smiled warmly at Victoria as she stepped away from him to shake out a blanket.

"Buenos dias, Diego."

"Indeed it is. Good morning, Victoria."

He followed her into the tavern once she was finished shaking out her blanket and leaned against the bar as she poured him his customary glass of juice.

"Gracias." He watched her over the rim of his glass as he took a slow sip.

When she turned suddenly and caught him staring, he quickly covered himself by asking, "Finished selecting your vegetables already this morning?"

"Oh, Diego," Victoria was instantly distracted by his question. "It's after ten. Of course I've finished. "

There were few in the tavern right now as breakfast was over and lunch hadn't yet begun. Alejandro joined Diego a few moments later and Victoria smiled warmly at him. The two took a seat at a table closest to the bar and watched with amused grins as Mendoza, followed by de Soto stepped into the tavern.

"It's so hot already out there!" Mendoza leaned heavily against the bar and Victoria immediately poured him a large glass of lemonade. She moved noticeably slower in filling a glass for the alcalde but he seemed not to notice and thanked her with a kind smile.

"Could you fill a large pitcher of lemonade for us please, Señorita?"

Victoria nodded and disappeared behind the kitchen curtain to complete the alcalde's request.

Before the alcalde could pay her, gun shots echoed throughout the plaza and the alcalde and Mendoza were gone before Victoria returned from the kitchen. She rushed to the door, Alejandro at her heels and watched in horror as a dozen or more bandits tore through the plaza, taking careful aim at the lancers diving for cover behind whatever they could find large enough to hide them.

Alejandro grabbed Victoria's shoulders and pulled her into the doorway out of harm's way. Felipe had just arrived and Alejandro grasped the boy's shirt and tugged him onto the porch with Victoria.

De Soto shouted orders and for a few moments the soldiers managed to hold off the bandits. But they regrouped and returned, shooting anyone who stood in their path. A few were pulled off their horses, but many of them jumped off, some running toward the alcalde's office, the bank and . . . the tavern.

Alejandro pulled Victoria and Felipe quickly inside, followed by a few other customers. But they were too late as three of the bandits wrestled open the door and burst inside.

Mendoza and de Soto followed those bandits but didn't notice that three more appeared behind them and pushed them into the building and slammed the door shut. They bolted the door behind them and leveled pistols at the occupants.

"What do you want with us?" Victoria cried, Alejandro pulling her back as one of the bandits approached.

One bandit disappeared into the kitchen and pulled out a screaming Pilar while another one rushed up the stairs to check each and every room for anything of value to steal. The bandit checking the rooms cheered with delight when he found a young señora who had stayed overnight with her husband.

"Ahh, we can have ourselves some fun before we leave, Juan!"

"Leave her, Manchito!" Juan started toward the stairs, gesturing for the younger man to come down. "We came for money, not women!"

The other four bandits occupied themselves by tying up the few people who had run into the tavern.

"I'll be down in a few minutes!" The señora screamed as Manchito pushed her into one of the rooms and slammed the door. They could hear the woman's screams and even de Soto was moved to act.

"No!" Victoria rushed toward the stairs but Juan grabbed her waist and pulled her away.

Alejandro started toward her but was grabbed by another bandit and thrown to the floor. De Soto was similarly handled and Mendoza and Felipe were already tied securely to a beam as were the other three peasants who were unfortunate enough to also be trapped in the tavern.

"Where is the cash box, señorita?" Juan turned Victoria toward him and shook her.

She spit at him and clawed at his face in an attempt to not only get away, but to lend aid to the poor woman locked in the room upstairs.

"Damn you, woman!" Juan raised his hand to hit Victoria.

"Striking a woman would not be good for your continued health, Señor!" A booming voice echoed throughout the tavern.

"Zorro!" Victoria cried as he stepped through the kitchen curtain and drew his blade.

"Unhand the señorita . . . " Zorro advanced on Juan, but not before he cracked his whip and disarmed two advancing bandits. "_Now_, señor."

"Zorro! Ups-" She tried to warn her masked love about the violence going on upstairs but she was roughly thrown to the floor as Juan advanced on Zorro, drawing his blade

One bandit came from behind the bar brandishing a pistol and another advanced from where he'd just finished tying de Soto and Alejandro.

"I'm sorry I cannot prolong this encounter, Señor." Zorro quickly disarmed the man and sent him sprawling to the floor with a hard right hook. "But, you have friends that would like to play as well. I must give them equal attention."

Victoria crept toward the stairs, intent on helping the poor woman still trapped while Zorro quickly handled the remaining bandits.

Zorro turned toward Victoria just in time to see Juan grab her from behind.

"Hiding behind a woman's skirts is a cowards way out, señor." Zorro advanced slowly, eyes darting from Victoria to the Juan, weighing his options.

Victoria brought her heel down on the top of Juan's foot and bit his arm hard, causing him to cry out and his grip to loosen. She pulled away from him and ran toward Zorro as the bandit pulled a pistol out of his sash.

"Victoria!" Zorro cried when he noticed the bandit take aim at his ladylove.

Victoria's eyes darted toward the masked man moments before a black-gloved hand slid around her wrist.

Felipe struggled wildly against the bonds that held him and opened his mouth to warn his friend. He was just as shocked as everyone else when his voice strained around the words, "Zorro! No!"

Zorro pulled Victoria roughly out of the way and inserted his body between her and Juan's pistol just as it fired.

Victoria screamed as Zorro collapsed to the floor, blood spreading across the wood beneath him.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Zorro!" Victoria cried as she moved toward the masked man's motionless body. "No!"

Shots still echoed in the plaza and people knocked on the tavern door, crying out for admittance. But no one heard them. All eyes were on the masked man lying unconscious on the tavern floor.

Even de Soto's eyes were wide with shock at how easily his nemesis had been taken down. In the past, his face would have lit with excited glee. But the events of the past month had changed the alcalde. Zorro had saved his life from what would have been a very excruciatingly painful death. And it had not been the first time. De Soto felt humbled and even saddened by today's turn of events.

Juan reached Victoria first and pulled her into his arms, smirking down at the black-clad body lying at his feet. He shot an amused look at de Soto, who was still gaping wide-mouthed at the sight. "And it's taken you how many years to do this?" He gave the black-clad body a prod with his boot. It didn't move.

Juan laughed as he was joined by two other bandits as they stuffed valuables and stolen money anywhere they could find room. He barked orders to grab the alcalde while he roughly tied Victoria's hands together and looped the tie around a nearby beam. "We're going to collect that reward on Zorro's head."

The alcalde was pulled roughly to his feet and dragged to the door, bandits holding him between them in case anyone in the plaza tried to play the hero.

"Oh," Juan glanced down at the unmoving man at his feet. "But I'm going to take a piece of him with me!" He cocked his head at Victoria with a smirk. "To remember him by!" Without pausing a moment, he knelt and pulled the mask from Zorro's face and strode to the door. "Lets go now. And do make sure you tell your lancers to hold their fire…or you will be the next to die."

De Soto was dragged through the door as his eyes widened in shock at the revelation of the masked man's identity.

Zorro was lying on his side, his body facing the tavern front entrance. The only person tied in front of him, who had a perfect line of sight at the man's face, was Mendoza.

The Sergeant's eyes widened and his mouth gaped as he glanced at Alejandro and then back at Zorro. "Madre de dios!"

"What is it, Sergeant?" Alejandro struggled against the bonds that held him.

They could hear the commotion outside and a few armed caballeros rushed in, along with the doctor. Two bandits were still unconscious, thanks to Zorro and young Manchito was strutting down the stairs, a satisfied smirk to his rugged features. One caballero aimed his pistol at the boy and he stopped in his tracks.

The doctor immediately knelt beside Zorro, glancing slowly from the unconscious man to Alejandro. The two other caballeros began to untie everyone in the tavern as the doctor rolled Zorro onto his back in search of the wound.

A collective breathless gasp echoed through the crowd as Diego's face became visible to everyone in the room.

"What - " Alejandro whispered as he was untied. He pushed himself to his feet and rushed to the doctor's side. "This can't be. How . . ."

The doctor paid no attention to the incredulous looks that passed between Victoria, Mendoza, Alejandro and everyone else. He was too concerned with finding the source of the injury. He ripped the front of the black silk shirt and pulled the ends from his trousers. The doctor winced when he noticed the shot had hit Diego in the left side just below the heart.

Victoria dropped to her knees on Diego's uninjured side and stared speechless at the unconscious man. "No."

"Victoria . . ." The doctor began, trying to shake her from her cathartic state. "I need some water and some rags." He felt the weak pulse beating in Diego's neck. "He's still alive, but I need to stop this bleeding."

Victoria shook her head, staring at her best friend. "It can't . . . He can't be . . ."

"Victoria!" The doctor's voice shocked her out of her stupor. "Please get me some towels and some water."

The distraught woman nodded wordlessly and scrambled to her feet. It took only moments for her to return with the requested items.

Felipe had replaced Victoria at Diego's uninjured side and the mute held his friend's hand tightly, tears welling in his wide eyes.

Victoria knelt at Diego's head and slowly, reverently dropped her hand to his hair. It fell over his forehead now, causing him to look so very young. She lifted his head and pushed her fingers into his hair, absently pulling at the soft, dark locks. She'd wanted to do that to Zorro for so long and it felt just as she'd always dreamed. Her heart was pounding so hard it echoed in her ears and a stifled sob escaped her lips as she risked a glance at the distraught and bewildered Alejandro, to the frantically upset Felipe.

The doctor had pulled off the black gloves and Victoria glanced down at the motionless long-fingered hand. It was so familiar to her. Victoria bent to press her lips to Diego's forehead. She brushed her cheek against his soft hair and closed her eyes, all of a sudden recognizing the faint sandalwood scent that lingered on his skin and in his hair. "Oh Dios, this can't be happening." Her voice was a mere whisper but it could be heard throughout the tavern as everyone stared in astonishment at not only the revelation of the masked man's identity, but that he'd even been injured in the first place.

It took some time, but the doctor cleaned and bandaged the wound, grateful that the pistol ball had gone right through Diego's side. But the caballero had lost a lot of blood and his skin was pale and clammy.

"I need to move him someplace more comfortable." Hernandez looked pointedly at Victoria, who was valiantly fighting back tears. "I don't want to risk the long ride to the hacienda." He glanced at Alejandro, who looked as if he had aged ten years in the last ten minutes.

"No, no." Alejandro said quietly. "Whatever you think is best."

The alcalde strode in then, head held high. "They've been driven out of the pueblo." He glanced down at Diego, an unreadable expression in his eyes. "Those who have been captured, will hang at sunset."

Alejandro glanced sharply at the alcalde but he simply motioned toward Diego. "Get him off this floor so the doctor can better tend him."

"Upstairs." Victoria stood and the doctor could see her trembling. "Bring him upstairs." She vanished to quickly prepare her best room.

Hernandez nodded to a few caballeros that stood a few steps away, watching the scene unfold with wide eyes. "Help me with him."

Alejandro and Felipe followed silently as the caballeros carried Diego up the stairs.

* * *

Days went by with no change in Diego's condition. He had stabilized enough so that he could be moved to the hacienda but there had been no other change.

Word spread quickly through the pueblo of the masked man's identity and as a consequence, well-wishers came day and night to the de la Vega hacienda bringing gifts, lighting candles and offering prayer's for his quick recovery.

Alejandro didn't have the heart or strength to turn them away. Simply thanked them for coming and allowed them to keep vigil on his property.

The doctor had been understandably busy after the attack. Many had been injured and more had been killed. But, Alejandro had given him the use of a room at the hacienda as well as offered to put up the injured so that the doctor would not have to travel to reach each of his patients.

After the third day, there were still three injured people fighting for their lives. The rest had either passed away or were given leave to return to their homes.

Victoria had slept as little as Alejandro and the dark circles under her eyes were further proof that she had gotten little rest since the attacks.

The only bed left in the hacienda was Alejandro's and he offered that to the distraught señorita, muttering that he would sleep in his son's room. Victoria had used the bed very little. Only when the doctor had forced her to drink a sleeping draught, did she take any rest, and even that was tumultuous at best.

Nightmare's plagued her dreams and as a result, she'd slept little, even though induced.

Most of her waking time was spent sitting at Diego's side, talking to him, whispering to him, holding his hand.

The revelation that he had all along been the masked man who had swept her off her feet with his love hadn't quite hit her as much as seeing her best friend lying unconscious in his own bed. Some part of her expected Zorro to arrive with a magical healing potion that would bring her friend around. She hasn't quite reconciled the identity of the two men in her mind yet.

She sat with a book in her lap, reading once again through teary eyes. It was a book of poems. One whose quotes she had heard spill from Zorro's lips so many times. Now she was able to look at her passive, mild-mannered friend and make the connection. She leaned toward him and grasped his hand tightly. "_God has given you one face, and you make yourself another_." A sob escaped her lips as she quoted from one particular painful passage. "Why, Diego?"

"Perhaps we will never know the answer, child." Padre Benitez stood in the open doorway, his eyes sad. He held a rosary in his hands and Victoria's heart sank, realizing that one of the other injured men being treated at the hacienda must have passed away.

"Or perhaps you know the answer, deep down in your heart, and you simply refuse to see it."

Victoria carefully considered the kind friar's words. "You knew, didn't you?"

The padre smiled slowly. "It is not for me to judge my parishioners. Nor reveal what is said to me in confidence."

Victoria sobbed, tears falling onto where her hand was wrapped tightly around Diego's.

"Child," the padre approached and knelt beside her chair. "If you know nothing else. You must understand that Diego loves you with all of his heart. What he's done, he's done to protect you."

"Protect me from his love?" Victoria whispered, risking a glance at Diego's calm face.

The padre smiled and took her hand. "Everyone wants to be loved for who they are, inside." He pressed her hand to her chest. "Very few know what truly lies in his heart."

"You know."

"As do you." The friar stood and patted her shoulder with a small smile. "You've been blinded by the mystical hero that is Zorro for so long, you could not see the true man behind the mask."

"He took that shot for me." She finally said, after a few moments of silence.

"As you took one for him."

Victoria nodded, silent tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Have faith, Victoria." The padre held up the rosary and twined it around her hand and his. "Pray with me."

She nodded wordlessly as he began the prayer.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Three more days went by and now it was only Diego who remained in the de la Vega hacienda due to injuries sustained by the attack on the pueblo. Another had passed away and the last had been allowed to return home just this morning.

The alcalde had not been by to inquire as to Diego's health, and for this, Alejandro was grateful. He feared the man was simply waiting for Diego to get well before arresting him and making a public spectacle of his execution for the masked man's supposed crimes. There was no doubt the alcalde would be getting his information on the health of his son from someone, regardless of how Alejandro tried to keep the information flow at a minimum.

Between running the ranch and sitting by his son's bedside, Alejandro looked terrible. He'd aged tremendously in the last week and the carefully constructed control around his temper was slipping more and more each day.

Diego's fever came and went but color had returned, at least in part, to his cheeks. The entire household held out continual hope that the young man would recover from his injury.

The padre visited frequently, helping Victoria talk through her anger at discovering the man she loved was actually her best friend. They talked at length about love and devotion and Victoria was grateful for the calm friar's presence. He gave her hope that Diego would live through this.

Once again alone in the room, Victoria trailed her fingers down his smooth cheek and gently pressed her lips to his. She buried her face in the pillow beside Diego's head unable to stop the tears. "Is this what you felt like when I was lying here?" She sobbed against his neck. "Powerless to help the one you love?" She didn't receive an answer but she didn't expect to.

She remembered cryptic words said during a time that she only now, truly understood.

If you die, Victoria, Zorro will die with you.

"You were telling me even then. I was too blinded by the mask to even notice." Victoria trembled, her breath coming in huge gasps as the tears began to flow in rapid streams down her cheeks. "Oh, Diego. Please don't die. You can't leave me alone in this world. You can't leave me." She desperately pressed her lips to his cheek, pleading with the unconscious man. She held his hand tightly as she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

The dark haze floating through his mind lifted slowly, permitting light to seek admittance. He tried to speak, tried to move, but even the mere thought caused such shooting pain throughout his body that he simply lay there, immobile, willing his eyes to open.

After a few moments, he tried again, each time more successful than the last. When, at last his eyes slid open, it was dark and he could smell the fresh scent of a familiar rose.

Zorro!

Panic rose in his eyes and his body involuntarily tensed, waking the sleeping woman whose head was pillowed on his arm. He blinked when she raised a sleepy head and regarded him with a wide-eyed gasp.

"Diego!" Victoria cried and he winced at the shrill tone. "Gracias a dios!" She embraced him carefully and pressed her lips to his in a quick gesture of affection. "We've been so worried!" She held his hand and pressed it to her lips.

"Victoria?" His throat was dry and her name came out as a hoarse whisper. "What - what - " he coughed. "Happened?"

Victoria brushed a lock of hair off his forehead and regarded him with a tender gaze. "You don't remember?"

Diego searched her eyes, her face, trying desperately to remember what had happened. His eyes flashed when he remembered pulling her out of the way of a pistol but -

He gasped as remembrance flooded his mind. Zorro had been shot! But he couldn't remember anything other than hitting the tavern floor.

"I - I. " Diego stammered.

"Shh," Victoria placed a finger on his lips. "Don't waste your energy talking right now." She closed her eyes and silently thanked God for his life. When she opened them again, she smiled warmly and rested a small hand against his cheek. "You will have ample opportunity for explanations. I have more questions than I can count…and so does your father."

Diego blinked rapidly. Trying to force his brain into more than a few groggy, sluggish thoughts. She knew. His secret was out? How - why, was he still alive?

Alejandro and Felipe nearly broke down the door at hearing Victoria's voice in the middle of the night.

"Diego. Son!" Alejandro sank into a chair opposite Victoria and gripped his son's other hand. "Dios! We've been so worried!"

Felipe disappeared and returned quickly with a glass of water. Alejandro helped his son to take a few cautious sips before he sank weakly back into the bed.

"Rest, Diego." Victoria trailed her hand down his jaw and cupped his cheek. "We'll be here when you wake."

Diego nodded weakly and complied, his mind not quite able to comprehend what had happened. He was tired, exhausted and he allowed Victoria's sweet, soothing voice to lull him back into a contented slumber.

* * *

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Alejandro tried to sound stern but his voice shook with emotion. His son was awake!

"I . . . imagine that I do," Diego said slowly, risking a nervous glance at Victoria. She simply smiled and clutched his hand, an unusual warmness shining in her bright eyes.

He wanted to ask her how she felt about her masked man turning out to be only her friend Diego but the doctor appeared and shoo'd them all out of his bedroom.

"Are they very angry?" Diego finally asked after a few minutes of silence. He winced as the doctor cleaned his wound.

"It's been over a week, Diego," Hernandez carefully checked Diego's side. "The anger dissipated long ago. Replaced by concern and a lot of deep affection."

A visible sigh of relief crossed Diego's face and the doctor chuckled. "I wouldn't count on emerging from this little incident unscathed, however."

Diego's face fell.

"The señorita . . ."

"I expect to witness first hand that fiery temper I love so much."

Hernandez tried to hide a smile as he bent to apply some medicated salve to the wound. "Yes, well, do the rest of us a favor and let us vacate the hacienda first, hmm?"

Diego gaped at him.

"That explosion is not something I wish to see at any time."

Diego chuckled and silence fell for a few moments until the doctor was finished. He glanced up at Diego and the injured man held his eyes with a firm stare. "Why am I not in the alcalde's jail."

The doctor's eyes fell. "I don't know. No one knows. The alcalde hasn't come near the hacienda since you were shot."

Diego nodded slowly as Alejandro and Victoria returned, Felipe in toe, grinning happily.

"He's doing well. Bed rest until he feels strong enough to stand." Hernandez turned to Alejandro. "And baby steps as he begins to walk. He'll be quite weak for a while."

Diego bristled at the thought of being confined to bed. He shifted uncomfortably and then winced as pain shot through his side. His sharp intake of breath earned him a disapproving look from Victoria.

"Don't worry, doctor," Victoria shot a coy look toward Diego. "I won't let him out of that bed until he's good and ready. He's in good hands."

"Of that, I have no doubt." The doctor grinned as he stepped out the door.

Diego turned sheepish eyes on the woman he loved while Alejandro settled into a nearby chair. He leaned forward regarding his son with an expectant grin.

Diego swallowed nervously, glancing from his father back to Victoria before turning pleading eyes on Felipe - who simply smiled knowingly and stepped back.

He heaved a heavy sigh. "Where would you like me to begin?"

TBC

Only one more chapter to go…. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Bed rest." Diego grumbled. "I can't stand being confined to bed."

"I would think not," Victoria grinned, taking unusual pleasure in seeing Diego's discomfort.

Diego noted her mood and frowned deeply. She was enjoying this too much. And he knew that she had him right where she wanted him - trapped in his own bedroom, of all places, unable to escape her withering stares and her unending questions.

"Oh, don't pout, Diego," Victoria took his hand and squeezed it. "You'll ruin the dashing image of my masked hero."

Diego leveled a long, heated stare at her and she found herself unable to look away. He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed each one. "Of all the ways I imagined this day, I didn't expect it to happen while I was confined to bed - and unconscious!"

"Unable to escape." A shudder raced down her spine at his gentle, all too familiar touch.

Alejandro would be positively scandalized to find them alone in his bedroom like this. But Diego didn't care, and neither, it appeared, did Victoria - for the moment.

"I've never wanted to escape you, querida." His eyes held an unmistakable longing and she found herself drawn to them. How had she never noticed this look in his eyes before? She quite clearly remembered seeing the same familiar, heated look in Zorro's eyes many times. Her thoughts drifted back to a quote she had read recently. _Young men's hearts lie not truly in their hearts, but within their eyes. _It was true. Had she only ever searched Diego's eyes, he would never have been able to mask his feelings for her.She couldn't place which book she had read it in and made a note to ask Diego about it later.

She leaned toward him in a silent invitation and he wasted no time in accepting. He slid his fingers into her hair and drew her lips to his.

The kiss was slow, probing, hesitant, but as her lips flowered beneath his, their kiss deepened into one of barely controlled passion. Her fingers slid into his hair while his hands wrapped gently around her cheeks, drawing her closer.

She sighed against his lips. For so long she'd wanted to do that. She'd dreamed often of what it would feel like to caress his soft hair.

When they parted, his eyes searched hers carefully, looking for any sign of regret.

"Does that replace the shattered image of your hero?" He grinned devilishly, licking his lips.

"Yes." She breathed, her eyes glazed. "Oh yes."

"Can you forgive me?" he asked quietly, steeling himself for her answer.

"I already have, Diego." Victoria's eyes misted as she reached up to brush her fingers across his lips. She sighed longingly when he captured her fingers in his hands once again and kissed each tip.

"I don't deserve you."

Victoria's eyes flashed mischievously. "No. You don't." She leaned forward and kissed him again. "But, we'll make do."

* * *

Alejandro quickly folded the letter and sealed the envelope. "Miguel. I need you to ride hard and fast. This letter needs to get to Luis Cristoba in Santa Barbara as soon as possible."

"Si, señor." The ranch hand tucked the letter safely away and nodded to his patron.

"You will ride Emilio. He is the fastest stallion we have." Alejandro walked with the man out to the stables. "You are to wait for Luis and serve as his escort."

"Si, patron." Alejandro calmly rested a hand on Miguel's shoulder. "God speed, Miguel. Bring him back quickly."

* * *

"De Soto has stationed lancers around the hacienda." Alejandro spat as he walked into his son's room.

Diego looked up from where he'd been quietly talking with Victoria, or were they kissing? Alejandro shook his head and stared at his son. He didn't have time to chastise them about proper protocol in this situation. Today may be the day he'd feared since learning his son was Zorro - the day when the alcalde came and removed his son from his home to execute him.

"Surely you don't find this at all surprising?" Diego asked with a sad smile.

"Unfortunately not." Alejandro sank into a chair opposite Victoria and pulled it toward the bed. "I'm not letting him take you without a fight."

"Father . . ."

"Don't even think about arguing with me, Diego." Alejandro's eyes narrowed. "If you think I am going to let the alcalde take my only son and hang him, or worse, before my very eyes, he is sorely mistaken. I'll sell this hacienda, the land, all the cattle and flee the territory with you before I allow that to happen."

Diego shook his head. "Father. . ."

"Don't try and argue with him, Diego." Victoria squeezed his hand. "His mind is set. You won't change it."

Diego sighed. Of all the ways he'd envisioned his family discovering his secret, this hadn't been one of them. There was a reason he hadn't wanted them to know.

"Nor will you change mine." She added resolutely.

Diego's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What have you done?"

Victoria raised her chin and set her jaw. "Nothing. Yet."

"What are you planning?" When he received no response, he asked in a different way. "Don't I have the right to know?"

"Like I had the right to know the man who so lovingly whispered promises in my ear from behind a mask and treated me like a casual friend as his real self?" Victoria shot back quickly and Alejandro winced at her tone. "The man who asked me to marry him without trusting that I could keep his secret?"

Diego dropped his eyes, his voice a mere whisper. "I owe you so much, Victoria. If God wills it, I will spend a lifetime repaying that debt."

"I only want you beside me." Victoria's anger vanished as instantly as it arrived and her eyes misted with tears she refused to shed. "I plan to go with you if you leave the territory."

Diego nodded, knowing that it would have been the only decision that she would make. There was no way he would be able to talk her out of such action and he wasn't certain he wanted to. They'd waited for so long to be together. If he had to leave the territory, he would relish the thought of her by his side every day for the rest of his life.

They were spared further discussion on the subject as Dr. Hernandez walked in.

'Good day, Diego."

"Doctor," Diego nodded as Victoria and Alejandro stood.

"We'll discuss this later," Diego called as they walked out to give the doctor a chance to examine his patient in private.

* * *

"Alcalde," Alejandro nodded curtly as de Soto walked into the hacienda.

"Good day, Don Alejandro."

"To what do we owe the honor of your visit?" Alejandro said slowly, afraid of the answer. He had armed the vaqueros days ago, in case the alcalde tried to remove his son from the hacienda by force. But he'd asked them to stay out of sight until the proper signal was given. And Cristoba hadn't arrived from Santa Barbara yet.

"I've come to see your son. Would you be so kind as to get him?" De Soto said with a smile as he a servant walked into the room carrying two glasses of juice. He took one and nodded politely to the servant. "I hear he's up and walking around. That's good to hear." De Soto took a sip of the juice and smiled over the rim.

"Yes. He's healed remarkably well after regaining consciousness."

"Good. I would like to speak with him, if you please."

"I'll see if he is awake. Excuse me, please." Alejandro exited the room quicker than he should have in an attempt to warn his son.

"Diego."

"Yes father?" Diego walked slowly, with use of a cane, over to the door.

"De Soto is here and he wants to see you."

Diego's eyes lowered and he sighed slowly. "So, he's come." A few seconds of silenced passed between the two men before Diego rested a hand on his father's shoulder. "Let's get this over with."

"Diego . . ."

"Let me handle it, father. I knew the risks when I put on the mask. I must deal with the consequences of that decision now." Diego didn't wait for his father to respond before he limped down the hallway toward the library.

De Soto was admiring a recently hung painting when Diego and Alejandro appeared.  
Victoria, who had just left the kitchen with a glass of cool juice for Diego nearly ran over the alcalde. She gasped in surprise, her eyes darting from de Soto to Diego and Alejandro. She quickly moved to Diego's side and urged him to sit, knowing that he wasn't completely steady on his feet yet.

"Ignacio." Diego nodded slowly to the alcalde and the man leveled Diego with a long stare.

"Diego." This was the first time he'd seen his old schoolmate since he was carried from the tavern, unconscious, over two weeks ago.

Diego motioned for them to move further into the library, where he would be able to sit.

"Sit, please. I'm not quite as steady on my feet as I would like and find it difficult to stand for long periods of time." He gingerly sank into the cushions, leaning the cane against a nearby table. Victoria immediately sat down next to him, slid her hand into his and defiantly stared at the alcalde.

The gesture was not lost on de Soto and he smiled at the señorita. "Understandable."

An uncomfortable silent moment followed before Diego broke it. "To what do we owe this visit?"

De Soto regarded his old schoolmate carefully before procuring a document from within his military jacket. He offered it to Diego who took it with a slow nod.

Alejandro held his breath as his son unrolled the parchment and he and Victoria began to read.

When he was finished reading, Diego glanced up at the alcalde with a surprised look on his face. "You've been replaced?"

"Indeed, I have."

Alejandro's eyes narrowed and he eagerly snapped up the parchment that Diego held out to him.

"All loyalists have been given the opportunity to leave for Spain rather than take the oath of allegiance to the new Mexican government."

"And you've chosen the former." It wasn't a question.

"I will not serve Mexico."

Diego nodded slowly as Alejandro finished reading, rolled the parchment and handed it back to the alcalde.

"No doubt you knew this was coming." De Soto allowed a small smile. "As well informed as you seem to be."

Diego grinned at that. "The rumblings of revolution have been getting louder with each passing year."

Victoria shifted uncomfortably next to Diego and he squeezed her hand in reassurance. He knew the question was on the tip of her tongue and only hoped that she would be able to restrain herself until de Soto decided to reveal the real reason for his visit.

Diego wasn't so fortunate.

Victoria's agitation with the situation won out and she said quickly. "Have you come to arrest Diego?"

De Soto regarded her with a wide, amused smile. "I should."

Alejandro stepped forward. "You won't take my son easily."

Diego closed his eyes and shook his head. Could they not agitate the man even further? Patience. Isn't that what every parent teaches their child? Why couldn't his family adopt some of it now?

"If I wanted your son, Don Alejandro, I would have come for him while he was unconscious." He shot an amused look at Diego, "Easier than dealing with you when you're awake. Far less," he rubbed his jaw in memory of all those right hooks Zorro had delivered over the years, "painful for me."

De Soto procured another document from his jacket and offered it to Diego.

Diego took it without hesitation, opened it and began to read. Victoria's small intake of breath was not lost on Alejandro and he stared at his son and Victoria expectantly.

"A pardon." Victoria whispered.

"As my last act in office," de Soto began. "Zorro's crimes under the Spanish crown have been absolved. What the current administration chooses to do with him is not my concern."

"Why?" Diego asked quietly as he offered the parchment to his father.

"I've asked myself that same question for the last two weeks, Diego." De Soto rubbed his whiskered chin. "Apart from you saving my life when the Emissary was going to so casually end it, I've learned some hard lessons in the last few weeks."

Diego, Victoria and Alejandro listened quietly as he continued, afraid to speak.

"You even saved me one last time in the tavern the day you were shot. These actions and many others are not those of a criminal and I was forced to examine just why I truly wanted Zorro hung." De Soto regarded Diego with an amused smile. "He'd damaged my pride. And I was determined to get it back … by whatever means necessary."

"Anyway," de Soto shook his head. "I shall be gone by weeks end. Your life is your own." He glanced at Diego and Victoria's entwined hands. "Do the pueblo a favor and marry the smitten señorita." He turned toward the door but Diego stood quickly, wincing at the sharp pain that burned through his side.

"Ignacio."

De Soto turned slowly, eyes meeting Diego's for the last time.

"Thank you."

De Soto nodded wordlessly and walked through the door, the lancers standing guard outside the hacienda following him as he left.

"I don't believe it." Alejandro breathed.

"I'll put that document in the cave for safe keeping." Diego said, still staring at the door in disbelief. "In case he has a change of heart and comes back for it."

"Do you really think that will happen?" Victoria asked, her eyes bright with concern and barely contained elation.

"No."

Diego hugged her close, breathing deeply of her rose scented hair. When she smiled up at him, their lips met in the most passionate, breath-stealing kiss Alejandro had ever witnessed. Felipe smiled embarrassingly, a flush creeping along his cheeks as Alejandro elbowed his ribs playfully. "I believe a visit to the padre is in order."

Diego and Victoria parted at the comment, their eyes dancing. "Yes, father. I think so."

Victoria stepped away from him and folded her arms. "I haven't heard a proposal from you yet, Diego de la Vega!"

Alejandro raised a curious eyebrow at this.

Diego opened his mouth to speak but only succeeded in revealing a knowing smile.

"And if you consider Zorro's proposal of marriage in that cave as adequate, you may just have a very long time to wait until . . ."

He fell immediately to his knees, ignoring the pain in his side, and gazed longingly up into her eyes. "Victoria Escalante. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Alejandro covered his mouth to hide the emotion that welled in his chest. Instead, he dropped an arm around Felipe's shoulders and squeezed them gently.

Victoria slid her hands into his hair as her eyes misted. "Yes, Diego. I will marry you." She fell into his arms, tears dripping down her cheeks, as their lips met in a slow kiss that turned quickly to one that even turned Alejandro's cheeks red. Long-restrained desire and a passion so intense it burned caused Alejandro to swallow embarrassingly and glance away. If they'd been in Diego's room, he would feel the need, and obligation, to part the couple, but in the middle of the library, Alejandro just smiled and backed slowly out of the room, drawing Felipe with him.

As they walked down the hallway, Alejandro squeezed Felipe's shoulders and muttered happily. "With that much passion. There will be children in this hacienda again by years end!"

The couple in the library simply smiled against one another's lips, each silently thanking God for their good fortune.

END


End file.
